Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 217,372 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH significantly increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation, purchasing an additional 217,372 shares, which raised its ownership to approximately 0.19% and a value of $14 million.
• Equity analysts have raised their price targets for Albemarle, with Jefferies Financial Group increasing its target from $90 to $105, indicating a generally bullish outlook.
• Albemarle reported earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations, with $0.11 earnings per share against an anticipated loss of ($0.83) for the most recent quarter.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 3,357.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 223,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 217,372 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.19% of Albemarle worth $14,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service grew its position in Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 84.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 54.4% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $72.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $74.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.41.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $96.11 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.31 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.

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